As personal computers (PCs) have improved in processing capability, various application programs have been developed which enable the creation and display of audio/visual presentations. In the mid 1980's, the IBM Corporation marketed a PC application program entitled: "PC Storyboard" which enabled the preparation and display of color presentations on an IBM PC. The PC Storyboard software was comprised of four program segments. A first segment, entitled: " Picture Maker", enabled the creation and modification of pictures in medium resolution graphics. Picture Maker included commands to write text, draw FIGURES, generate charts and to cut and paste images between pictures. A second segment, "Picture Taker", was employed to capture picture images of scenes from other PC application programs. "Story Editor", was a third segment which enabled the PC user to organize pictures into presentations (stories). It provided for the selection of a variety of picture-to-picture transition methods that allowed one picture to dissolve into another. Variables such as display times, colors and whether the picture would be developed as a full picture or as a series of partial pictures, were also enabled by this software. Storyboard also included a segment entitled: "Story Tell", which enabled the presentation of stories assembled by the other software segments.
While Storyboard was, for its time, a remarkable product for the PC, it lacked a number of capabilities. It was essentially a visual presentation assembler and presenter; it lacked any significant capability for audio presentation assembly; for synchronization of an audio presentation with the visual presentation; for interspersing during the presentation, commands which enabled logical and data processing interactions between the viewer and the PC; etc.
Recently, the increased use of windows, pull-downs, advanced cursor-selection techniques and other display-oriented, user interface instrumentalities have come into favor. These enable a PC user to directly interface with a PC's software and to control it largely from cursor-controlled screen selections. Substantial capability, color presentation systems with synchronized audio have not, to the Inventor's knowledge been made available for the PC market.
In addition to PC Storyboard, other prior art has provided audio/visual, computer-based presentation capabilities. For instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,712,180 to Fujiyama et al, a computer-assisted instruction system is described wherein audio and pedagogy information are compiled to produce a recording medium with an integrated mode of presentation. Various embodiments are described for integrating the audio and non-audio components of the presentation. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,645,459 to Graf et al, the use is described of a library of images to produce improved quality "real-world" images for computer imagery. Lemelson, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,646,172 describes a video presentation system wherein audio and video segments are combined to produce an integrated presentation. None of the above references teach a user-friendly interface which enables direct and simple methods for compilation of the presentations.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,746,994 to Ettlinger, an editing system is described wherein selected film segments may be spliced independent of picture and sound track sources and timing. The system provides a graphically arranged representation of the script of the work being edited, thus permitting the editor to preview and select segments of different "takes". This system attacks considerably different problems than those encountered in computer-based audio/visual presentations.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a computer-based audio/visual assembly and presentation system which exhibits visual presentations with synchronized audio.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an audio/visual assembly and presentation system which enables interactive processing with a user during the presentation and which is adapted to run on a PC.
It is another object of this invention to provide an audio/visual synchronized presentation system for a PC wherein intelligent interfaces on the PC screen enable a user to easily employ the system.